Library DIY (beta)

Understanding Citations

Understanding Citations

There are several different citation styles which are required for different disciplines, such as MLA, APA, and Chicago. These styles follow set formats and vary slightly in content and punctuation. For more information about different citation styles or questions about citing specific items, visit the PSU Library Cite Your Sources guide or the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Here are examples of APA and MLA citation styles from Purdue University's OWL:

ARTICLE

APA format - Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number (issue number), pages. http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyyy 
APA example - Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology journal articles. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896.

MLA format - Author(s). "Title of Article." Title of Journal, Volume, Issue, Year, pages.
MLA example - Bagchi, Alaknanda. "Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi's Bashai Tudu." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature, vol. 15, no. 1, 1996, pp. 41-50.

BOOK CHAPTER

APA format - Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pages of chapter). Location: Publisher.
APA example - Frey, M. A. (1995). Toward a theory of families, children and chronic Illness. In M. A. Frey & C. L. Sieoff (Eds.), Advancing King's system framework and theory of nursing (pp. 109-25). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

MLA format - Last name, First name. "Title of Essay." Title of Collection, edited by Editor's Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.
MLA example - Harris, Muriel. "Talk to Me: Engaging Reluctant Writers." A Tutor's Guide: Helping Writers One to One, edited by Ben Rafoth, Heinemann, 2000, pp. 24-34.

BOOK

APA format - Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter for only the first word in the subtitle. Location: Publisher.
APA example - Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991). APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

MLA format - Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.
MLA example - Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. MacMurray, 1999.